For this week's Dream Cast Thursday (technically Friday, since I have been getting these posts out later and later), I will be recasting novels by two of the Bronte sisters. Jane Eyre was published by Charlotte Bronte in 1847, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was published by Anne Bronte in 1848. When making my casting choices for Jane Eyre, I looked at several adaptations. I looked at the versions of Jane Eyre from 1983, 1996 and 2006, and I looked at adaptations of Wide Sargasso Sea from 1993 and 2006.
The first character that I recast was Jane Eyre. She has been played by Zelah Clarke, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Ruth Wilson. For my adaptation, I cast Claire Foy
The second character that I recast was Edward Fairfax Rochester. He has been played by Timothy Dalton, William Hurt, Nathaniel Parker, Toby Stephens, and Rafe Spall. For my adaptation, I cast Rufus Sewell.
The next character that I recast was Mrs. Fairfax. She has been played by Jean Harvey, Joan Plowright, and Lorraine Ashbourne. For my adaptation, I cast Susan Sarandon.
The last character that I recast was Bertha or Antoinette Cosway. She has been played by Joolia Cappleman, Maria Schneider, Karina Lombard, Claudia Coulter, and Rebecca Hall. For my adaptation, I cast Mili Avital.
When casting The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, I looked at one adaptation from 1996. The first character that I recast was Helen. She was played by Tara Fitzgerald. For my adaptation, I cast Charlotte Riley.
The second character that I recast was Gilbert Markham. He was played by Toby Stephens. For my adaptation, I cast Henry Cavill.
The third character that I recast was Huntingdon. He was played by Rupert Graves. For my adaptation, I cast Jude Law.
The last character that I recast was Mr. Lawrence. He was played by James Purefoy. For my adaptation, I cast Alex O'Laughlin.
So what do you all think? What are are favorite Bronte novels? What are your favorite adaptations, and who would be in yours?
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1 comment:
Hmmm, my general comment is that the people you chose for "Jane Eyre" are way too good looking for the roles... both the characters of Jane and Rochester are described in the novel as being "plain", yet in every screen adaptation, one or the other of them is played by a strikingly good looking actor.... Claire Foy and Rufus Sewell are both good actors and would be up to the task of conveying the characters' emotional journey - but both of them are drop dead gorgeous... also, they are both way too old. Jane is supposed to be 18, Claire Foy is 27... Rochester is supposed to be 38, whereas Rufus Sewell is 44.
With "Tenant Of Wildfell Hall", again, you also made the mistake of casting a really good looking actor as Gilbert Markham, when the role calls for someone who looks more plain and ordinary... one of the main problems I had with accepting Toby Stephens in the roles of Markham and Rochester is he is way too pretty for these roles (that, and I thought he played Rochester in an overly flippant and foppish manner).
Charlotte Riley and Jude Law are well chosen though, and those characters are actually SUPPOSED to be good looking, so casting really hansom actors isn't an issue there. Law plays arrogant smugness very well, but he can also do charming. With a role like Huntington, you need someone who can act very charming from the outset so Helen doesn't seem like a complete idiot for being deceived by him. One of the main problems with the earlier miniseries was that Rupert Graves came across as too smarmy and sleezy early on, so it was hard to get what Helen saw in him.
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